Psychometric aspects of the W-DEQ; a new questionnaire for the measurement of fear of childbirth

Wijma, Klaas; Wijma, Barbro; Zar, Margareta

doi:10.3109/01674829809048501

Cited by 618 publications

(688 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…We therefore modified a validated questionnaire by Wijma et al concerning delivery expectancy and experiences. 10,11 We extrapolated a set of 11 questions regarding moods and experiences with answers on a scale of 1 to 5 ("Much worse than expected," "Worse than expected," "As expected," "Better than expected," and "Much better than expected") and an option to fill in "Don't know." Pain perception by women was measured on a visual analog scale (VAS) ranging from 0 to 100.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unfortunately, until now there are no validated questionnaires on women's experience and preferences for different methods of cervical ripening for induction of labor. Therefore, we adapted a validated questionnaire about expectancy and experience of labor by Wijma et al 10,11 This provides the possibility that the questionnaire did not measure what it is supposed to measure. Furthermore, women were asked about or reported their experience of the whole procedure, and not only their experience of the cervical ripening.…”

Section: Commentmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Women's Experiences with and Preference for Induction of Labor with Oral Misoprostol or Foley Catheter at Term

Eikelder

Meent²,

Mast

et al. 2016

Amer J Perinatol

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Objective We assessed experience and preferences among term women undergoing induction of labor with oral misoprostol or Foley catheter. Study Design In 18 of the 29 participating hospitals in the PROBAAT-II trial, women were asked to complete a questionnaire within 24 hours after delivery. We adapted a validated questionnaire about expectancy and experience of labor and asked women whether they would prefer the same method again in a future pregnancy.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Commentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Women's Experiences with and Preference for Induction of Labor with Oral Misoprostol or Foley Catheter at Term

Eikelder

Meent²,

Mast

et al. 2016

Amer J Perinatol

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“…'Please indicate why you would prefer an epidural (for your partner)? ' 8 A review of the literature revealed more than 10 different self-report measures of childbirth fear (4,5,(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28), ranging from 1-item measures (26,27,29) to a 64-item scale (5). The 33-item Wijma Delivery and Expectancy Questionnaire (WDEQ) (20) is the most commonly employed measure and has been used in several countries (1-3, 30-32).…”

Section: Sample 6 (Usa)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…items about the potential death of the baby or uncontrollable screaming during labour) (20,28). Some of the one or two item scales could have been adapted for use with young adults; we adapted one such scale (24) to test the discriminant validity of our new measure.…”

Section: Development Of the Instrumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-cultural development and psychometric evaluation of a measure to assess fear of childbirth prior to pregnancy

Stoll

Hauck

Downe

et al. 2016

Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare

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Background: Assessment of childbirth fear, in advance of pregnancy, and early identification of modifiable factors contributing to fear can inform public health initiatives and/or school-based educational programming for the next generation of maternity care consumers. We developed and evaluated a short fear of birth scale that incorporates the most common dimensions of fear reported by men and women prior to pregnancy, fear of: labour pain, being out of control and unable to cope with labour and birth, complications, and irreversible physical damage.Methods: University students in six countries (Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Iceland, and the United States, n=2240) participated in an online survey to assess their fears and attitudes about birth. We report internal consistency reliability, corrected-itemto-total correlations, factor loadings and convergent and discriminant validity of the new scale. Results:The Childbirth Fear -Prior to Pregnancy (CFPP) scale showed high internal consistency across samples (α >0.86). All corrected-item-to total correlations exceeded 0.45, supporting the uni-dimensionality of the scale. Construct validity of the CFPP was supported by a high correlation between the new scale and a two-item visual analog scale that measures fear of birth (r >0.6 across samples). Weak correlations of the CFPP with 2 scores on measures that assess related psychological states (anxiety, depression and stress) support the discriminant validity of the scale. Conclusion:The CFPP is a short, reliable and valid measure of childbirth fear among young women and men in six countries who plan to have children. Highlights• Fear of childbirth can precede pregnancy and is associated with preferences for cesarean section among young men and women who plan to have children in the future.• Assessing fear of birth and associated factors for young adults in different countries is an important first step in understanding why some young women and men are afraid of childbirth and how this issue might be addressed.• We developed a 10-item fear of birth scale that incorporates the main dimensions of fear reported by young adults in the literature, including fear of: labour pain, bodily damage, and complications.• The Childbirth Fear -Prior to Pregnancy (CFPP) scale had high internal consistency reliability across samples, measured one underlying construct, was highly correlated with another measure of childbirth fear, and was weakly correlated with measures of depression, anxiety and stress.

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“…The questionnaire included socioeconomic information and several validated selfassessment scales, such as the Edinburgh Depression Scale (short version) [19], the Norvold Abuse Questionnaire (NorAq) [20] and the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ [21].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pregnant women’s preference for cesarean section and subsequent mode of birth – a six-country cohort study

Ryding

Lukasse

Kristjansdottir

et al. 2016

Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology

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Introduction: The rate of cesarean section (CS) for non-medical reasons has risen and is a concern for health care. Women's preferences may vary across countries for psychosocial or obstetric reasons.Methods: A prospective cohort study of 6,549 women in routine antenatal care, giving birth in Belgium, Iceland, Denmark, Estonia, Norway or Sweden. Preference for mode of birth was self-reported in mid-pregnancy. Birth outcome data were collected from hospital records.Results: A CS was preferred by 3.5% of primiparous women and 8.7% of the multiparous women. Preference for CS was associated with severe fear of childbirth, with a negative birth experience in multiparous women, and with depressive symptoms in the primiparous. Women were somewhat more prone to prefer a cesarean in Iceland, OR 1.70(1.02-2.83), adjusted for age, education, depression, fear of childbirth, history of abuse, previous cesarean and previous negative birth experience. Out of the 404 women who preferred CS during pregnancy, 286 (70.8%) were delivered by CS, mostly for a medical indication. A total of 9% of the cesareans in the cohort had a non-medical indication only.Conclusions: Women's preference for cesarean section often seems to be due to health concerns. Both medical and psychological factors need to be addressed in antenatal counseling. Obstetricians need to convey accurately to women the risks and benefits of CS in her specific case. Maternity professionals should identify and explore psychosocial reasons for women's preferences.

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Psychometric aspects of the W-DEQ; a new questionnaire for the measurement of fear of childbirth

Cited by 618 publications

References 11 publications

Women's Experiences with and Preference for Induction of Labor with Oral Misoprostol or Foley Catheter at Term

Women's Experiences with and Preference for Induction of Labor with Oral Misoprostol or Foley Catheter at Term

Cross-cultural development and psychometric evaluation of a measure to assess fear of childbirth prior to pregnancy

Pregnant women’s preference for cesarean section and subsequent mode of birth – a six-country cohort study

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